Thursday, January 13, 2011

A New Year, A New Me?

"A New You". That's what all the headlines say in on the cover of all the magazines in the checkout line at the supermarket. There's always some new fad diet you must try, or "How Beyonce Lost 15 lbs." or some new secret workout.

Ever seen this movie?

If you have, then you know that all the guys in it look like this:

Your welcome :o)

What do those guys have to do with 'a new me'? A lot. See how ripped they are? (of course you noticed) Well, I want to be all muscle like them

However, since I'm a gal, I'd rather look like this:

You know what the '300' guys did to get there? They busted their asses at the gym until they wanted to puke and wished for death. They controlled what went into their mouths. They had discipline. And trainers paid for by the film company, but that's beside the point - my point is that they worked HARD. And they got results. There is no special diet/pill/exercise formula for results like that - only HARD WORK and DISCIPLINE.

Being an American consumer you will, of course, want to know what 'secret' workout I'm doing and what 'new' diet I'm trying. What I'm doing is no secret. May I introduce the guys who turned the actors of the movie '300' into the rock-hard handsome hunks you see on screen: Gym Jones.

These guys are exclusive so neither you nor I could ever hope to train in their gym in Utah, however, we can learn about their training philosophies by reading articles on their website. The writer tells us that the actors and stunt men did a wide variety of primitive workouts (meaning, no modern exercise machines). However, one task they aimed to complete (without rest) is the workout aptly named, the '300 Workout'.

Here it is:

25 pull-ups

50 dead lifts

50 push-ups

50 box jumps onto a 24" surface

50 floor wipers (those are KILLER)

50 single-arm kettlebell clean & presses

25 pull-ups

And that's what my handsome hubby and I have been doing in the gym for the past week and a half. It's rough. We're sore. We're tired. We're not done. We go through this workout three days a week, however, we do rest between sets and reps...we're not quite at the level of being able to push through without stopping. Plus, according to Gym Jones standard, I cheat a little. I use the assist machine for pull-ups and I do my push-ups on my knees. But I don't skimp on the reps. We do cardio on the days in-between.

The floor wipers were the hardest for me. Here's how to do it: lie flat on the ground, hold weighted barbell above your head (the Gym Jones standard is 135 lb. - yeeeeeaaaaahhhh....not quite there yet!), keeping your legs straight, lift them up to the right hand, lower, then lift to the left. Repeat. Ouch. A single rep is going up to the right, down then up to the left, so you're actually lifting your legs 100 times. My first try I only did 25. Next try I made it to 32. Then 40. Now I can do the full 50 reps (resting between each 10). Pain, all pain.

What about food? You can't eat cookies and chips and expect to look like Mr. Beefy or Mrs. Tight Body, even if you are exercising. We wanted someone to tell us what to eat and when to eat. Our answer was found is Muscle & Fitness magazine. They have a 5 week training diet that tells us what to eat, how much and when. We're eating like body builders who are shredding for the summer (that means building muscle & burning fat). I'm eating less calories than what's given, though, since the diet was created for a 200 lb. man. We're eating lean meats, complex carbs, vegetables, a little bit of fruit and whey & cassein protein shakes. We eat small meals throughout the day so just about the time we get hungry it's time to eat again. So far, it's going well.

Why am I doing this? Is it all about image? No. It used to be when I began getting serious about exercise last year. Don't get me wrong - I still want to rid my body of unnecessary fat. However, this time it's about more than that. It's about strength and taking my body to the next fitness level. It's a personal challenge for myself. A chance to do something I've never done before.

We'll do this particular program for a total of 5 weeks and then we'll move on to something else to keep our bodies from plateauing. Can't wait to see the results!

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About Me

Things That Make Me Go Hmm:

"You make the choice. It is really, really hard sometimes to choose cheerfulness, but it is your choice. Your children will pick up on your attitude immediately and will key off of you. What attitude would you like your children to have today? If we want cheerfulness, then we need to be examples of cheerfulness."- Joanne Calderwood (full article here)